xbay wrote:I hope you guys know being in debt isn't completely a horrible thing. I know, that sounds dumb to say... but that's what I learned from my Economics class.

Do elaborate please...

I would, but that's all I remember my teacher saying. I kinda zoned out after that. All I remember was we were talking about national debt, I zoned out, heard him say that debt isn't a completely terrible thing, and zoned out again.

I know, sorry I couldn't elaborate. I'll ask him tomorrow since I have Economics tomorrow and get back to you, if you'd like.

xbay wrote:I hope you guys know being in debt isn't completely a horrible thing. I know, that sounds dumb to say... but that's what I learned from my Economics class.

Do elaborate please...

I would, but that's all I remember my teacher saying. I kinda zoned out after that. All I remember was we were talking about national debt, I zoned out, heard him say that debt isn't a completely terrible thing, and zoned out again.

I know, sorry I couldn't elaborate. I'll ask him tomorrow since I have Economics tomorrow and get back to you, if you'd like.

If your professor says our U.S. Debt isn't a terrible thing... never believe another word he says.

xbay wrote:I hope you guys know being in debt isn't completely a horrible thing. I know, that sounds dumb to say... but that's what I learned from my Economics class.

Do elaborate please...

I would, but that's all I remember my teacher saying. I kinda zoned out after that. All I remember was we were talking about national debt, I zoned out, heard him say that debt isn't a completely terrible thing, and zoned out again.

I know, sorry I couldn't elaborate. I'll ask him tomorrow since I have Economics tomorrow and get back to you, if you'd like.

Well, to avoid making it more complicate than it should be, being in debt means you're creating money for others, using the money you earn to create even more money. That's the way banks work, buying debt... that you have to pay, adding the interest, so the system feeds itself.

He's right in that assesment... but being in TOO MUCH debt will kill you, as there will come a time in which everybody knows that you won't be able (or, at the very least, have trouble) to pay that debt, and they'll stop buying your debt. Good luck getting out of that sh*thole once that happens.

xbay wrote:I hope you guys know being in debt isn't completely a horrible thing. I know, that sounds dumb to say... but that's what I learned from my Economics class.

Do elaborate please...

I would, but that's all I remember my teacher saying. I kinda zoned out after that. All I remember was we were talking about national debt, I zoned out, heard him say that debt isn't a completely terrible thing, and zoned out again.

I know, sorry I couldn't elaborate. I'll ask him tomorrow since I have Economics tomorrow and get back to you, if you'd like.

Well, to avoid making it more complicate than it should be, being in debt means you're creating money for others, using the money you earn to create even more money. That's the way banks work, buying debt... that you have to pay, adding the interest, so the system feeds itself.

He's right in that assesment... but being in TOO MUCH debt will kill you, as there will come a time in which everybody knows that you won't be able (or, at the very least, have trouble) to pay that debt, and they'll stop buying your debt. Good luck getting out of that sh*thole once that happens.

Yeah, that's what I meant. That's why I said being in debt isn't a COMPLETELY horrible thing. Thanks for clearing it up, TMC.

I'm no econ master but I believe our GDP is still ridiculous - no other country's GDP even comes close (about 1/3 of ours), the European Union has us beat by a little but that's like 21-23 countries combined.

From what I've been told is that our debt, by and large, is relative - for many different reasons. Like the companies/organizations/nations of which we've issued bonds and borrowed money/goods/services from don't want to see the US fail and likely will fail with us - therefore they wont call in the debt.

I've also heard that much of our debt is simply fabricated numbers generated by crooked politicians and lobbyists and that it changes from regime to regime.

There are many other elements that I can't explain or even understand, but that was one take. Not saying that there isn't anything to worry about but I don't think it's time to hit the panic button yet.

A big part of that is war spending, but an even bigger part of that debt is due to medicare and social security commitments. If we find a way to drive down healthcare costs and get out of these wars we could shrink that debt considerably, at least going forward.

Money Morrow wrote:A big part of that is war spending, but an even bigger part of that debt is due to medicare and social security commitments. If we find a way to drive down healthcare costs and get out of these wars we could shrink that debt considerably, at least going forward.

Let's see stop fighting wars and lower health care costs... That sounds like a great idea!

Now try to find a single politician, from the colossal pool of corrupt bastards that is our government, who will actually try to achieve those ends.

Money Morrow wrote:A big part of that is war spending, but an even bigger part of that debt is due to medicare and social security commitments. If we find a way to drive down healthcare costs and get out of these wars we could shrink that debt considerably, at least going forward.

Let's see stop fighting wars and lower health care costs... That sounds like a great idea!

Now try to find a single politician, from the colossal pool of corrupt bastards that is our government, who will actually try to achieve those ends.

Federal deficit? No problem! We print all our own money, we set our own interest rate, and we borrow money from rich bankers who collect interest endlessly so they can buy their daughters $4 million shoe closets.

How will we pay them back? Luckily, every working schmuck pays a third of his or salary to the feds, who in turn spend billions on whatever they feel is prudent... and to creditors.

A government-controlled central bank combined with a federal income tax is absolutely the greatest setup out there. And we essentially empower this system every single day... at least, those of us who have a job.

Some of the biggest winners are the bankers, but also public employees who work for tax payer money with contracts that promise ridiculous pensions that are backed by taxpayers. Imagine this: wouldn't it be awesome if your current employer guaranteed a 10% return on your 401K plan every year regardless of the economy or the stock market?

Clinton, at least, worked to decrease the deficit but every single other president in the past three decades has continued to spend more than they brought in. Democrats, Republicans, it makes no difference. Cries for limited government and decreased spending make for good speeches but are totally unrealized in our society.